Want to know where Gramercy Tavern's chef eats pig's ears? Julie Zeveloff/Business Insider Chefs know good food. And where they choose to eat in their time off says something about the quality of the restaurant and the food: that it's delicious, excellent and chef-approved.

This picky group chose the best of the best, recounting the meals and the restaurants that impressed them. We've pulled out the 14 restaurants in America that made this list and listed them here in alphabetical order.

COI

"An experience like no other in the world. Beautiful, eccentric, and soulful, in sync with all of the best products of Northern California, and with a modern poetic vibe that only chef Daniel Patterson can speak."

Daniel

"I had such an incredible dinner at Daniel that he may have single handedly salvaged my opinion of fine dining ... Expert, delicious, exciting, and very, very beautiful. No palate fatigue whatsoever! We asked to have wine paired, and it was the best pairing I've ever had."

Kafana

"Kafana, a Yugoslavian delight in the East Village, is focused, unwavering, and explicitly Serbian-Croatian, with grilled meats and chopped, crunchy, fresh salads. The staff is fast and sharp, and no one around you at the tables is speaking English; you feel as if you've just wandered into a popular, bustling, low-key supper club in a bohemian neighborhood of Dubrovnik."

McCrady's

"Chef de cuisine Jeremiah Langhorne is young, inventive, a force to be reckoned with. Who else can serve something as simple as Southern rice and have it be ethereal? It was butter-steamed rice. That's it ... except it was transcendent."

Momofuku Noodle Bar

"It's truly a New York restaurant par excellence with all of David Chang's identity. It rocks, it's noisy, it really fits into its urban milieu. There are the wonderful buns—Chinese brioches—and the spicy noodles with spinach and peanuts, which are served icy cold. Really intense."

Parm

"I love their take on Italian-American cuisine. They do a spectacular job of combining the charm of classic dishes with the polish of modern New York food. The setting is very familial—small, intimate, and just delicious. Simple but inventive, classic but new."

SPQR

SPQR

Location: San Francisco, California

Specialty: Ricotta Gnudi

"Chef Matt Accarrino has the best pasta in San Francisco, and Shelley Lindgren is one of my favorite sommeliers. Their attention to detail in the service, food, and amazing wines will blow anyone away."

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